Leaving the City Behind
Before we begin, let me ask you to do one simple thing: clear your mind of all traces of city noise.
I had just hiked an hour uphill through Seoul’s Bukhansan National Park to reach Jang Jeok, a Buddhist priest whose name means “extreme calmness” in Korean. He was waiting for me at Ilseonsa Temple, where he has lived alone for the past seven years, keeping constant watch over the bustling city below.
“For a compact nation, South Korea has an astonishing number of Buddhist temples – approximately 20,000, some of which are more than 1,000 years old,” Jang said, his voice calm and serene. “Korean temples stand apart visually from temples in other parts of Asia, as many are timber-frame structures made of Korean red pine, painted in the country’s traditional Dancheong aquamarine hue that adorns wooden buildings. Some also feature out-of-this-world chanting. It all combines to produce a soul-soothing recipe for serenity.”
Jang’s intimate and expert familiarity on the topic was precisely why I had come to seek his advice. As I listened intently, I knew that my quest to find Zen in Seoul had just begun.
Jogyesa: The Heart of Korean Buddhism
According to Jang, no guide to Seoul’s best temples would be complete without mentioning Jogyesa, the chief temple of the Jogye Order, which represents the largest segment of the country’s Buddhist population – comprising approximately 1,900 active temples, 13,000 monks and nuns, and 7 million followers.
Constructed in 1395, Jogyesa is South Korea’s most important temple, located in the heart of downtown Seoul, surrounded by high-rise buildings – a wonderful ancient-meets-modern juxtaposition. And while Jang says a temple surrounded by corporate and financial buildings may make for a less spiritual experience, it remains popular with travelers and locals alike.
As the BBC article mentions, here visitors will witness many genuine displays of religious devotion as people sit outside the doors of Daeungjeon, the main temple hall, studying Buddhist texts before circumambulating the lofty 500-year-old Sophora japonica tree, also known as the “Scholar tree.”
One of Jang’s favorite times to visit is in the months leading up to the national holiday of Buddha’s birthday, Bucheonim oshin nal, in the spring, roughly mid-April to mid-May. During this period, colorful lanterns are strung up like a hanging carpet above the temple grounds, and sunlight penetrates the gaps, casting dappled light on everything and everyone below.
“While lanterns can be found at all temples at this time, they are at their most numerous and impressive at Jogyesa, and temple workers ascend on hydraulic lifts to attach the handwritten prayers of devotees between them,” Jang explained with a soft smile.
Bongeunsa: Solitude in the City
About 10 kilometers southeast of Jogyesa lies Bongeunsa, one of the country’s oldest temples, dating back to 794. Jang recommended visiting Bongeunsa in the evening, as the blue hour fades to night, when the temple empties out to just a few lone souls.
“On weekdays, if you linger in the courtyard in front of the the main hall where a monk may be chanting as incense burns, you’ll notice a handful of office workers visiting to pray and bow,” Jang said. “Overhead loom the city’s tallest and glitziest high-rise apartment towers, a sign that you’re in Gangnam District’s Samseong-dong neighborhood, one of Seoul’s most affluent areas.”
Jang also suggested exploring the grounds away from the big hall, moving in the opposite direction to the main road outside, to seek quiet and solitude until the only sound that can be heard is the crunch of gravel underfoot.
“Don’t miss the 23-meter-tall Maitreya statue – the future Buddha who will one day descend to Earth to preach the dharma anew – whose reflection in the polished stone floor is a sight to behold at this time of evening,” he added.
Bongeunsa also runs a variety of cultural programs for tourists and foreign residents, such as temple stays and “Templelife” – a 25-hour event every Thursday where visitors can join a group for a temple tour, tea ceremony, and a meditative session spent copying sutras by hand.
Gilsangsa: From Courtesan to Contemplation
According to Jang, the modern temple of Gilsangsa may have the most fascinating story of any temple in Seoul. While the building itself is considerably older, it only became a working temple in 1997. It was originally a famous yŏjeong, a restaurant where powerful male political figures would meet after dark to dine and interact with courtesans called Daewongak.
“Daewongak was one of the three-most popular restaurants of its kind in the 1970s and 80s, and was owned by a gisaeng, a woman from an outcast or slave family trained to be a courtesan to provide entertainment and converse with upper-class men named Kim Yeong-han,” Jang explained.
In the mid-1990s, Kim decided to change the course of her life after reading and being powerfully affected by the book “Musoyu (Non-Possession)” by a monk named the Venerable Beopjeong. She informed him that she wished to donate the sprawling property – valued in the millions of dollars – to him to turn it into a temple. In return, she received the Buddhist name Gilsanghwa and a simple set of prayer beads.
“Beopjeong fulfilled her wish in 1997 by opening the new temple to the public,” Jang said. “Today, Gilsangsa runs cultural programs with names such as ‘Find Your True Self in the Busy City’ – as indeed Kim believed that she had at the end of her life.”
Visitors can spot various features from its previous incarnation as Daewongak while walking through Gilsangsa’s landscaped grounds. Some of the small outbuildings and rooms have been repurposed from their days as the domain of courtesans and turned into solitary meditation rooms.
Bongwonsa: Preserving Ancient Traditions
Jang is particularly fond of Bongwonsa, a temple nestled at the foot of Ansan Mountain, west of the downtown area. Founded in 889, Bongwonsa belongs to the Taego Order, the second-largest order of Korean Buddhism. Unlike the Jogye Order, whose monks must remain celibate, Taego monks are allowed to marry and have children, although notably, nuns of both orders must remain celibate.
“This leads to a hereditary line of monks where one becomes a monk if one’s father was a monk,” Jang said. “This in turn has led to the strong preservation of ancient traditions, Buddhist artifacts, and things such as traditional Korean dances.”
Among these traditions is an unmissable event in early June each year known as the Yeongsanjae, where world peace and the reunification of North and South Korea are the themes of traditional music and dance performances. The Seoul Lotus Flower Culture Festival is also held here later in the summer.
“There’s nowhere else in Seoul like Bongwonsa,” Jang remarked. “To get here from Sinchon station, take the 7024 bus for a seven-minute ride into what feels like a historical village of well-preserved traditional houses deep in the countryside – a world away from the metal and glass of the skyscrapers of Seoul’s Mapo District.”
Hwagyesa: A Natural Escape
Hwagyesa, built in 1522, is a serene temple complex surrounded by the foothills of Mt. Samgak. Encircled by forest, the temple has a strong connection to nature, ticking one of Jang’s boxes for ensuring a truly spiritual experience.
“Moreover, temple stays are possible here, bookable through the national temple stay website at the office opposite Jogyesa or directly by emailing Hwagyesa,” Jang said. “You’re just a 15-minute walk from the nearest station, Hwagye station, but you wake up feeling as though you’re in the middle of the countryside.”
Hwagyesa is also a popular temple for foreign monks to come and visit its renowned Buddhist education center, the Seoul International Zen Center, which offers a three-month meditation course every summer. The temple also offers weekly classes for tourists and foreign residents who wish to learn about Buddhism every Saturday.
“As you walk uphill to the temple complex from the entrance gate, you’ll hear the sound of running water from a crystal-clear stream beside the lane,” Jang described. “You may also run into happy-but-slightly-bleary-eyed visitors who wake up at 4 AM each morning to medita tively perform 108 prostrations – which pales in comparison to the 3,000 performed here by monks and nuns on the last Saturday of every month.”
Yeonghwasa: Easy Access, Serene Surroundings
Located near the city’s eastern boundary, Yeonghwasa was founded in 674 and has one of the longest histories of any temple in Seoul. In Jang’s opinion, it is also one of Seoul’s most beautiful temples, thanks to its secluded location in a pine forest on the side of Achasan Mountain.
“Yeonghwasa is easy to access, either by car, bus, or subway,” Jang explained. “Additionally, its proximity to Seoul Children’s Grand Park, featuring a park, zoo, theme park rides, and a concert hall, makes it an excellent option for families.”
Jang recommended seeking out the serene statue of the Maitreya, the future Buddha who will one day descend to Earth to preach the dharma anew. To locate it, first find the tower housing a giant bell, rung precisely 28 times in the morning and 33 times in the evening to save the souls of all sentient beings in the Universe, and follow a 108-step trail up to the right of it.
“At the top of the hill is a hall housing the 35-meter-tall Maitreya Buddha, an enigmatically smiling statue said to be capable of healing chronic illnesses among other miracles,” Jang said with a twinkle in his eye.
Heungcheonsa: Architectural Masterpiece
Jang’s final recommendation was Heungcheonsa, founded in 1397, which preserves the traditional style of Korean Buddhist architecture better than any other temple in Seoul.
“Heungcheonsa represents how temples used to look, with its varied roof tiles and white columns painted with black hanja script, Korean written in Chinese characters,” Jang explained. “Throughout its history, Heungcheonsa was a favorite temple of the Korean royal family, who frequently paid for its repairs and expansions, even rebuilding it from scratch when it burned to the ground more than once.”
It was also the first headquarters of the Jogye Order and one of its rooms hosted a scholar working on developing hangeul, the Korean alphabet, on the order of the revered King Sejong.
“For me, this combination of historical importance and unique visuals makes Heungcheonsa stand out,” Jang said. “Today, the temple’s six main halls and bell tower are dwarfed by modern high-rise apartment blocks that tower over it – an incongruous setting, but not unphotogenic. For architecture buffs, this in-your-face contrast may well be reason enough to visit.”
As I bid farewell to Jang and began my descent back into the city, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder and anticipation. The temples he had described, each with its own unique charm and history, seemed to beckon me, promising a journey of self-discovery and inner peace. And who am I to resist the call of Zen in the heart of Seoul?
If you find yourself in the vibrant city of Seoul, I urge you to heed Jang’s advice and explore these remarkable bastions of tranquility. Whether you seek solitude, history, or a deeper connection with nature, the Buddhist temples of Seoul stand ready to guide you on a path to true Zen.
